


Our Way Home

by glitch_writes



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Childhood Friends, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Romance, Flashbacks, Haikyuu!! Fantasy Exchange 2018, M/M, POV Alternating, Reunions, Roommates, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-16 22:15:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16503728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitch_writes/pseuds/glitch_writes
Summary: It had been four years. Four years since the storm swept away their village, four years since Chikara's family made for the capital, four years since he'd seen his best friend.He loved the city, but it was hard to call it 'home' - until Ryuu tumbled through his window.





	Our Way Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [celestehalcyon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestehalcyon/gifts).



> For Anya, for the Fantasy Exchange!

_ Dear Ryuu, _

“No. That feels too strong,” Chikara sighed, scratching it out and starting again.

_ Hey there, Ryuu, _

“No, that's not right either.”

He scratched out the greeting, then another, then another, getting no further than a scribbled-out sentence each time before the dregs of his inkwell finally ran dry. 

As autumn blew in with its chilly wind, so did the nostalgia. For three years, the shapeshifter couldn't put his finger on why. Was it the orange and red treetops that reminded him of scarlet eyes? Was it the aroma of burning wood in the fireplace, like the bonfires Ryuu made for them to make up stories beside? Was it the falling leaves, the memories of gathering piles to jump in together as a kitten and dragon pup? 

After four years since their tiny village was forced to move, he could answer to himself honestly: it was all that and more. So much more. 

Ryuu was his first friend due to circumstance, but a true friend due to their balance. A balance that his new friends in the city, Narita and Kinoshita, couldn't quite fill. Ryuu was like the fire he breathed, warming and wild, energetic and enchanting. With Ryuu beside Chikara, spontaneous adventures and taking chances were always less scary, channeling the fear to nervous excitement.

He, Narita, and Kinoshita could have used that fire. 

“Why am I bothering,” Chikara wondered aloud, his chair scraping and stuttering across the wooden floor as he pushed away from his desk.

He didn’t even know where Ryuu lived.

When their families fled the village, Chikara's aimed for the capital, to make the life in the city that they yearned for but never had the courage to try.

Ryuu’s family had no interest in the hustle and bustle of the crowds. They were hunter-gatherers, would rather live off the land than confine themselves. 

Where ever they had decided to call home… Chikara never knew. 

If only he had a way to find out, he wondered distractedly, padding over to the bed. It was more likely that a miracle would come knocking on his-

His window frame rattled, the rapping on the glass too heavy to be wayward branches in the wind. 

The silhouette covering the window was darker than any shadow, solid black, and… faintly shimmering, scales and wings catching the moonlight. 

“Oi, Chika-chan?” came a raspy, wonderfully familiar voice muffled behind the glass. “Chika-chan! Open up! It’s me!” 

“Ryuu?!” Chikara rushed over, his impatient fingers fumbling with the latch before throwing the window open. 

Claws latched onto the sill, the dragon barely slimmer than the window lifted himself through... 

And one of his wings caught on the frame, tumbling in with the grace of a newborn deer, cussing and taking Chikara down with him. 

“Chika-chan!” The dragon pinning him down nuzzled his snoot against Chikara’s cheek. “I missed you!”

He was there - Ryuu was well and truly there, well and truly in front of him again. ...And well and truly crushing him. 

“I missed you, too.” More than words could describe, though he had no plans to confess that. He reached up to the best of his ability to pet Ryuu’s side. “You’re heavy.”

Transformations always happened in a blink - literally. All one would need to do is close their eyes without a thought, and next they opened them, the shifter would be human again. In truth, Chikara had never been able to see his own shifts; they were too quick, and came as naturally as breathing. 

The human on top of him was thankfully lighter than the dragon - and attractive to an unfair degree. The past four years had been good to Ryuu. His cheekbones were more defined, his jaw was sharper, and his eyes… There was something about his eyes, something Chikara couldn't describe but made it impossible to look away. His smile was the same, sincere with a hint of mischief. But his eyes…

They were so captivating, Chikara hadn't even noticed he was staring.

Or that Ryuu was staring back, his gaze tracing Chikara’s cheeks to his chin, then back up to his eyes, to his hair-

Ryuu's eyes widened, his hand jolting to Chikara’s hair. “What happened to your ears?” 

“Huh?”

“And your tail! You look…” Ryuu squinted his eyes, “you look human.”

“I  _ am _ human. And so are you, remember?”

“Sure, sure, but…” Ryuu’s fingers brushed over the top of Chikara’s head, searching for what he knew wasn't there. “You always had the ears and tail going on. Hell, it was hard enough to keep you from being a cat all the time. But being human without the ears? Forget it, that was impossible.” 

That life felt like, well, a lifetime ago. Half-form… If he couldn't be a cat, whatever the reason - usually his parents scolding him for trying to sloppily eat human food, or getting stuck in a tree - then he would settle for a half-form, fuzzy ears to twitch and fluffy tail to swish. 

Ryuu was the same, even then as he continued to crush Chikara. Onyx scales lined his cheekbones and jaw, down his neck and stopping at the dip of his neck. A few lined his collarbones, more twisted around his arms, and patches on his hips dipped below the hem of his pants and out of sight. A scaled, pointed tail draped over his leg, the tip reaching just below the back of his knee.

It made Chikara realize… Ryuu was shirtless. And still on top of him.

“There're no shifters here,” Chikara replied, nudging Ryuu’s shoulders till he rolled off of him. Shifters were rare enough as it were. “If there are any,” he continued as he sat up, “they hide it.” 

“Huh?” Ryuu sat up too, crossing his legs with his tail flat out behind him. Thankfully, he had pants - some sort of loose, gray fabric, with runes stitched in black around the hem. “I don't get it. Why would they hide it?”

“To not stand out.”

“Pfffftt.” Ryuu gave a dismissive shrug, ‘so what’ written all over his scrunched face from his furrowed brow to his cheeky grin. “Who cares if you stand out?”

Chikara shook his head, smiling despite himself. “I care. I’d rather not deal with the attention.” He sat up and wiped off his pants before holding out his hand to Ryuu. “You’re not here to talk about my aversion to the spotlight. Do you want some tea?” 

“Got anything sweet?” 

“Mhm.” He always kept some cinnamon stock for nostalgia’s sake - to open his cabinet and remember rainy days sitting by the window, beating Ryuu at board games while they talked about anything and everything while the aroma of cinnamon tea or hot cocoa rose from their cups. 

Ryuu poked about the small apartment curiously while Chikara started tea, padding around barefoot and his tail curled at the tip. “You got a nice place!” 

Chikara placed the two cups and their saucers on a tray on the counter. “It’s not much.” It wasn’t shabby, but it was nothing to write letters about, either. 

“You kidding? It's great!” Ryuu turned his back to the counter to hop up and sit on it a few inches away from the tea tray. “Your own place! And it's all separated, too. Not just a room with a bed on one side and a kitchen on the other.”

“Hm. I hadn't thought of it like that before.” Perhaps it was worth writing letters about. Not that he would - the only person he'd write to was finally beside him again. “Have you had your own place?”

“Twice,” Ryuu replied, holding up two fingers. “First, I tried the roommate thing with my buddy Noya. Love ‘im to death, but after a while, it's like… You ever just feel tired socially?”

“Constantly.”

“Shoulda figured you’d say that, you grouch,” he teased, leaning back till his head lightly bonked the upper cabinet. He rubbed the back of his head absently. “After a while, you just wanna do your own thing. Have your own space and schedule and all that. If I'm gonna share that with someone, it's gotta be someone I’m so in love with that it feels like home no matter where we are. Even if they've got way too much energy like Noya.”

“Mm. Makes sense.” Chikara hadn't even considered a roommate for more than a fleeting moment; he made enough, barely, for what he had. The price he paid for solitude was worthwhile. “What was the second place like?”

“Like the size of this kitchen, if you could shove a bed in your pantry. Made me regret moving out of Noya’s place most of the time. ‘Cept after being around too many people all day, I'd come back to my crappy place and I'd think, yeah, guess this ain't so bad.”

The hours that flew by while talking - Ryuu sitting on the counter and Chikara leaning on the wall opposite of him, talking like they did years ago over chamomile tea - felt like nothing more than a few minutes, just as the four years apart that had dragged by felt like a mere few days now that they were together again. They talked about where they went after the storm that destroyed the village - the Tanakas traveled from place to place for a year until they settled in a town in the mountains, while the Ennoshita family struggled in the city for the first year, taking odd jobs until they got his father’s sweets bakery up and running. They talked about their individual experiences - Ryuu continued to hunt, while Chikara got involved in the local theater, helping as a stagehand while he observed the director. They talked about the friends they made - Ryuu’s closest friend was a ball of condensed energy named Nishinoya that hunted with him, with a few underlings that were either equally energetic or made up for it with concentrated apathy, while Chikara had met Kinoshita and Narita at the theater and had clicked from day one.

And there, talking like it had been nothing more than a few weeks since they’d last spoke, it well and truly hit him. 

Ryuu, the friend he’d missed so dearly, was there. Right there. Right there, sitting on his kitchen counter and talking as if it’d only been days since they parted. 

“So, I was thinking…” Ryuu grabbed the tip of his tail curled into his lap, brushing his thumb over it. “I’m thinkin’ I might wanna move out here.”

Chikara blinked, setting his empty cup off to the side. “Why?” 

“I wanna try something different. Meet new people,” he held the tip of his tail up to his cheek, still fidgeting with it. “And see you.”

“That's sweet, but,” Chikara took Ryuu’s empty cup and placed them both in the sink, “you're a hunter. If you get caught hunting around here, you'll be arrested for poaching.”

“That's why I wanna move! Not the poaching part, but the ‘no hunting’ part. I wanna try something different for work, too.”

“But you're so good at it,” Chikara replied with a hint of suspicion. Ryuu had always been a natural, from his skill to his shifted form, following his parents’ footsteps with ease. “Did something happen?”

Ryuu shook his head. “Nah, nothing like that. I just… just think maybe it’s not really for me. Never really had a choice, you know? So, I figured I should check out the city, see if I find some sort of calling. Who knows, maybe I'll end up trying some stuff out and realizing I wanna hunt after all. But I wanna at least try.”

“That’s really thoughtful of you,” Chikara replied. Not that Ryuu wasn’t thoughtful, of course, but more that he had a habit of reversing the ‘think before you act’ sentiment. “Where are you staying?” He must have found a place nearby, Chikara assumed, somewhere he must have dropped his bags off before-

“C-can I stay here? For now?”

Chikara raised his brows. “Sure, but… Where are your belonging?”

Ryuu’s hand fidgeting with the tail slid closer to his mouth, almost covering his nervous smile. “I, uh… dropped my bag while flying… In a river... And there was a bear...”

“Weren’t you supposed to be a hunter?” Chikara teased, offering Ryuu a hand to help him down from the counter.

Ryuu took the hand before hopping down. “Yeah, and that’s why I know facing a bear head-on alone is stupider than most things I do.” 

Chikara huffed in amusement. “We’ll go in town tomorrow to buy you what you need.” He let go of Ryuu’s hand as he looked him up - still the same eye level despite the time growing apart, though Ryuu was a tiny bit taller. “My clothes should fit you for now. Oh, but I don’t have a guest bed…”

“That’s fine!” Ryuu marched ahead toward the bedroom, turning the corner out of sight. “I’m good with the floor, remember?” 

“Can you even fit-” Chikara followed around the corner to spot Ryuu’s dragon form taking up a good portion of his bedroom, between the bed and the closet. “That doesn’t look comfortable.”

“Nah, it’s good! Cozy. I like it.” He trotted in a circle before curling up beside the bed, resting his chin on his arm. 

Chikara climbed over the bed’s footboard. “Good night, Ryuu.”

“G’night, Chika-chan.” 

After a few minutes, Ryuu broke the silence. “Hey, Chika-chan?”

“Yes, Ryuu?”

“Missed you.” 

“I missed you, too.” 

*

Everyone knew a little bit of magic. 

Ryuu’s mother was a healer. She could mend small wounds and soothe mild ails. His sister could sense vibrations from anything with the smallest touch. She could locate predator and prey alike in perfect darkness.

His father could make a perfect cup of hot cocoa, a sweetness that could relax Noya and bring a tiny smile to Tsukishima’s lips. 

Ryuu had been to cities before in passing, but never the capital, and it reminded him of his family’s magic. The faint glow of mana lighting the streetlamps, the small flame a young girl held close to her friend gently shivering in the evening chill, the dazzle of colorful sparks from the street performer’s fingers as she played her lute. The bustling of the townspeople’s chatter and horse-drawn carriages, the lights of homes and shops alike speckled across the horizon like stars, the dusting of blush across the cheeks of lovers walking hand in hand down the cobblestone roads. Everywhere he looked - magic. 

Just as there was magic everywhere he looked, so too were there stares - curious eyes catching glimpses of his scales and tail. He couldn’t blame them; his scales were stunning, if he would say so himself. He swished his tail a little more than it would naturally whenever passing anyone particularly attractive. 

If only Chikara had his tail out, too. He missed Chikara’s fluffy tail.

“I’m stuffed,” he groaned, purposely shoving against Chikara’s shoulder. “Your parents are trying to fatten me up. Think they’re plannin’ on cooking me?” 

“Dragon is a delicacy here in the city.” 

“Ha ha. Very funny. ...You- you are kidding, right?” 

“Of course I’m kidding,” Chikara smirked. “You’d shift back once your pulse stops.” 

“You’re scary, Chika-chan.” 

Chikara glanced at Ryuu from the corner of his eye, his smile softening, but he made no further remark; he was much like his shifted form at heart - content to enjoy his company in silence. 

Dragons, on the other hand, loved to be noisy. “Guessss what your dad gave me!” 

An amused glint caught in Chikara’s eyes. “Cake?” 

“That, too!” Ryuu replied enthusiastically, patting the top of the bag draped over his shoulder, nearly knocking into another staring passerby as they turned the corner. In truth, Ennoshita-san gave him quite a variety of small things - ingredients, with a few lists rolled-up together. “You know what? It’ll be a surprise.” 

“I’m looking forward to it.” Chikara lowered his head along with his voice as they reached the apartment stairwell. “It doesn’t bother you?”

“What doesn’t bother me?”

“The staring.” 

Ryuu shook his head, knocking against Chikara’s shoulder again. “Not one bit. Just look at this pretty tail!” He lightly thwacked the back of Chikara’s knee with it, relishing in Chikara’s small laugh. He continued to reassure Chikara with a grin. “I’d rather be as comfortable as I possibly can, even if it means the whole world’s staring. Hell, it’s even better if they stare. Means I get to show off.” 

“You’re ridiculous,” Chikara huffed in amusement as he opened the door, gesturing for Ryuu to enter first. “Speaking of comfortable, how’s my shirt?”

Ryuu headed straight for the kitchen, setting the bag on the counter. “It’s so soft! Makes me almost think I should start wearing shirts more often.” 

Chikara raised his brows to match the curl of his lips. “Almost?”  

“Almost!” Ryuu pulled the shirt off anyway, shoving it into Chikara’s arms. “Go wait out there! It’s gonna be a surprise, remember?”

Twenty-three minutes, eleven grumbled cusses, and one impressive countertop mess later, Ryuu emerged triumphant with the kitchen, tea tray in hand.

“Tada!”

Steam rose from the cup Ryuu placed in front of Chikara, the sweet aroma tickling his nose and his pride. 

But it wasn't the aroma he was proud of - nor, in truth, was it solely the taste.

Chikara gasped, gently, the sound nearly lost in the brush of wind singing at the window. “You…” Chikara looked up at Ryuu with a soft, almost childlike delight that made him feel like they were ten and sitting by the fireplace again. “You drew a cat?”

The design in the froth was sloppy - the best of eight attempts - but it still mostly resembled a cat’s face, with simple lines making up the ears, eyes, nose, and of course, cute little whiskers that each stretched to the rim.

“A kitty for a kitty,” Ryuu beamed. “Taste it!”

Ryuu noticed the night before - and all throughout the day as well, guilty enough - just how much Chikara had and hadn't changed. It didn't seem like he grew taller, not with the minuscule difference between them being the same it ever was. His face was as soft as always, round cheeks with a button nose and heavy-lidded eyes to match. But the change was there. It was there as determination in his soft edges, as wisdom in his sleepy eyes, as strength in his shoulders. 

But the face he made whenever Ryuu surprised him - pink lips parted, eyes wide with wonder - was ever the same, and brought Ryuu the same joy as it did years ago. “But I don't want to ruin the cat…”

“Good. I'll make a better one next time.” Ryuu sat beside him with his own mug in hand. “C'mon, Chika-chan! You gotta tell me how good it is!”

“Okay…” Hesitantly, Chikara brought the hot cocoa to his lips. “Oh, wow,” he breathed, giving Ryuu that look of wonder again. “It tastes just like your dad's.” 

Ryuu grinned so hard, his cheeks hurt. “I was thinkin’, your dad's bakery's got some space for a few tables, so, why not serve hot drinks and make it a little cafe or something like that? So I talked to him about it, and he gave me some stuff so I could try making some other drinks, and bake some things…”

Chikara licked a stray drop of cocoa off his lip, and Ryuu couldn't help but think back to the times he'd see a similar sight on a small, black feline. “You're thinking of working with my father?”

“Yup! We're gonna give it a go and see how it works out. Whaddya think?”

“I think it's a perfect idea,” Chikara replied with a light tone that matched his relaxed smile. “My parents love you too much. If you burned the place down on accident, they'd apologize for getting soot on your apron.” 

Ryuu faked a pout. “Chika-chan.”

Chikara placed his hand over Ryuu's and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You'll be great at it. Baking's about passion, and you have enough passion to feed the whole city.”

Chikara's warmth lingered after he pulled his hand away, stronger than the steaming cup in Ryuu's other hand.

“Did you make a design in your cocoa?” Chikara asked, leaning over to get a closer look.

“I, uh, I tried to make a dragon…”

Chikara bit his lip, failing to hide his smirk.

“That bad?”

“It looks like bear droppings.”

“Bear droppings shaped like a really cool dragon!” Ryuu stuck out his tongue, delighting in Chikara's laugh.

“So,” Chikara took another sip of his cocoa, “you never finished telling me about the time you crashed into a tree.”

“Right, right!” Anything to hear his friend’s gentle laugh again. “So there I was, stuck in some branches…” 

*

_ “Tada! Cake!”  _

_ Toddler Ryuu presents his masterpiece with a grin, setting the plate in front of his kitten friend.  _

_ Chikara stops cleaning his paw mid-lick to look up at Ryuu and the beautiful ‘cake’ with awe, the tip of his tongue still sticking out.  _

_ The mud on the plate is packed tightly, with broken-up sticks decorating the top in the sloppy shape of a cat face, with rocks for the eyes and a nose.  _

_ Ryuu squints his eyes at Chikara, muttering a “Hmmmmm” before his eyes light up. “Wait!” he shouts before running back out to the yard. He returns with a few more pieces of stick a minute later, setting them under the cake-cat’s mouth to form a little tongue to match Chikara’s blep. “Perfect! A kitty for a kitty!” _

*

“This is Tanaka. He’s my friend from my old village.” 

Between the current production and Ryuu’s baking ventures, it took three weeks to get their schedules lined up to introduce Ryuu to any of Chikara’s friends. 

That, and Chikara was nervous. Incredibly nervous. 

Having Ryuu around was surreal. Life had been surreal in general since the storm; every aspect had changed so dramatically, somewhere in the back of his mind he was always expecting to wake up back in the village, his time in the bustling city as a stagehand all a wild dream before he was forced to face another day in a life he’d merely accepted instead of craved. 

Having Ryuu around, much as he loved it, didn't help the whole ‘it's all a dream’ feeling, the unreasonable fear that bringing the two different lives together would make it all crash down. 

But there they were - Ryuu standing before two of his city friends on the otherwise empty stage, and reality had yet to implode into the black curtains. 

“I'm Sawamura Daichi,” Daichi greeted with a polite bow of his head. “I'm the director for most shows.”

“The theater’s run by his family. Passed down from generation to generation,” Chikara supplied.

“That's more of a coincidence,” Daichi replied with a shrug. “We all end up wanting a career in theater one way or another. My mother was an actor, and my grandmother built sets like Ennoshita.”

“You build sets?” Ryuu tilted his head at Chikara. “What’s that mean?”

“Settings for the scenes. I make props and backdrops with Narita and Kinoshita.” 

“But I thought you wanted to direct?” 

Chikara ducked his head. And more-than-highly considered running away. “Yes, but I hadn’t told anyone else that.” 

Suga smirked, holding a finger over his lips like he had a secret, mischief glinting in his deceivingly sweet eyes. “So that’s why you’re always watching Daichi. You’re trying to learn from him! I thought you had a crush on him!” 

That too, but Chikara would take that secret to the grave. Maybe he’d get lucky and reality would implode after all. “This is Sugawara,” he said instead of vanishing from space and time. 

“Call me Suga!” Suga said, pointing a thumb at his chest. “Can I touch your tail?” 

“...How long have you been waiting to ask that?”

“Since he walked in, Daichi.” 

“Yeah, check it out! It’s so smooth,” Ryuu beamed, turning around and swishing his tail up. “Chika-chan chased it all the time when we were kids cause it’s so pretty.” 

It was more because cat-brain liked the way it caught light, but Chikara wasn’t about to admit that.

“Chika-chan?” Daichi and Suga said in unison, though Suga was the one to continue playfully, “Can I call you that?”

“No!” Ryuu huffed, folding his arms and pouting. “Only I can! I started it!”

Chikara gave Suga an apologetic shrug. “He did start it. He gets to make that call.”

The sun had long since set when they finally left for home. 

“Suga-san was saying he wants me to show up in a play!” Ryuu repeated for the fourth time as he leaned over the roof’s edge as a dragon, offering his clawed hands to Chikara standing on the windowsill.

“I’m worried a real dragon walking onstage might pull the audience from their immersion.” Chikara replied as he took the hands, wrapping his fingers around Ryuu’s wrists tightly. “Maybe we can do your silhouette? If you stand behind a thin curtain, and we use a light…”

“C’mon, Chika-chan, don’t be a killjoy!” Ryuu flapped his wings for extra leverage until Chikara’s feet were safely on the roof beside him. “I thought Suga-san would never let go of my tail. Does he play with your tail, too? Do they like your cat form?”

Chikara sat down and leaned back on his arms, staring up at the countless stars painting the sky. He hadn’t stopped to enjoy the night sky, he realized, not since he moved. Not since his friend he used to watch them with was a world away. Not until that same best friend fell through his window and started dragging him to watch them again. “I don’t think they even know I’m a shifter.”

“Huh?! Do you even shift anymore?” 

“Not really. There hasn’t been a need.”

The truth was… well, it was overthinking, he could admit, but it was a solid reason to him all the same. If he didn’t walk down the street in his half-form, the form he loved most, then who was he to turn into a cat at all? A cat would get just as many stares, if not more. And in private… well, honestly, he felt he didn’t deserve it.

“Pfft. A ‘need’? Since when is that a thing? You never needed a reason before! Hell, it was impossible to keep you from shifting!” The dragon flopped down and rested his chin on Chikara’s lap. “Your mom would always talk about how you had trouble learning to walk with two legs, ‘cause you wouldn’t stop turning into a kitten.” 

“Mm. And she always follows it up with,” he pet the dragon’s head, right between his horns, eliciting a content huff, “how you helped me walk by turning into a dragon and letting me use you for balance.” 

Ryuu turned his head just enough to get a better look at Chikara. “Musta been payment for helping me talk, Chika-chan.” 

Ryuu’s irises as a dragon were like fire, scarlet that burst to gold. Like Ryuu’s human form, Chikara couldn’t look away - a billion beautiful stars, and he’d rather watch Ryuu’s eyes. 

Ryuu didn’t look away, either.

“Hey, Chika-chan?” Ryuu started quietly, leaning into Chikara’s touch as he pet his neck. “I like it here in the city. With you.” 

Chikara slid his palm to Ryuu’s cheek, brushing his thumb across it. “I like having you here with me.” 

With Ryuu beside him again, the city was finally starting to feel less like a dream, and more like home. 

*

The bakery lunch rush was more intense than hunting. 

It was more a cafe than a bakery since Ryuu’s employment, though a small one. A small, constantly filled one. Ironically, it was because people loved his hot cocoa that he had to do so much more than making it. Taking orders, wiping down tables, cleaning dishes, making sure every cabinet was stocked and every floor was swept, all while making sure every customer was taken care of quickly and with a smile - it was a flour-covered battlefield, and he loved it. 

Ryuu whistled as he mopped the floor after the rush, swaying to the made-up song playing in his head. The best part was post-rush, the satisfaction of cleaning it all up and restocking, while helping out the stragglers that trickled in. Well, that and the smiles when someone tasted his hot cocoa.

“Wel-” he began when he heard the bell at the door chime, until he looked over. 

“Oh, uh,” the customer walking in looked by her feet, “the cat’s not mine. Should I take it out, or…?”

“Nah, he’s good,” Ryuu replied with a grin so wide it hurt his cheeks, watching the black cat with a beige collar slink in like he owned the place. “He’s with me.” 

The cat hopped onto the windowsill and loafed, content to watch the people passing by.

The rest of his shift passed by too quickly, not enough time to enjoy that Chikara was there, there in a way he never thought he’d see again until that afternoon.

“So, you had the day off, huh?” Ryuu asked as he opened the apartment door, gesturing for the cat to trot in first. 

Chikara simply yawned in response. He was never one for talking when he was shifted. Must have been a cat thing, preferring to enjoy company in silence. 

Chikara hopped up on the bed and patted the pillow with his paw. “There’s room for two.”

“I-I’ll make sure the windows are closed?” Ryuu squeaked, bolting back to the small living room. There must have been a draft coming through, he reassured himself double-checked all the latches; surely it was some chilly breeze burning his cheeks. 

That pesky, mysterious draft continued to burn his cheeks as he finally changed and laid on the bed and got another good look at the sloppy strip of bark cloth making up the cat’s collar. 

Ryuu hooked a finger under it. “Why do you gotta use this thing for a collar?” 

Chikara wiggled for a better position on the extra pillow by Ryuu’s side, folding his paws underneath him like a proper loaf of cat. “Because someone important gave it to me.”

Ryuu shoved his face into his pillow. “Chika-chaaaan, stop being embarrassing!” 

There was a stutter in Chikara’s purr, his own version of a laugh that Ryuu recognized as naturally as any other. “I outgrew my old shift robes,” Chikara replied, “so I wanted to use something of sentimental value.” 

“That ‘sentimental value’ is measured by how much it embarrasses me, right?”

Chikara replied with another stuttered purr. “My mother kept it. It was in her jewelry box that she saved from the storm. So when we left, I…” The tips of Chikara's tail swished slowly but sharply before he wrapped it in front of him. “I didn't mind starting over, but it helped to have something from before. Especially because I had nothing from…”

Ryuu turned to his side to face Chikara better and folded his arm under his head. “Nothing frooomm…?”

The tip of Chikara's tail flicked again, covering half of his face. “I had nothing from my best friend.” 

Ryuu grinned. “You missssed meee,” he sing-songed, poking the cat's nose.

Chikara rubbed his cheek against Ryuu's finger. “I did.”

That inexplicable wind burned his cheeks yet again. “Yeah, well, I missed you enough to crash through your window. So I win.”

“Hm. I think that makes me the winner, because I got to see you again.” 

“Alright, we’ll call it a tie.”

*

_ “Ki-tty. Ki… tty.” Chikara takes tiny, shaky steps toward his friend, kitten legs wobbling until he smooshes his fuzzy face against Ryuu’s small knee.  _

_ Chikara’s first word was ‘kitty’. _

_ “Ka…” Ryuu pats Chikara’s head with his chubby baby hands, a little rough but only just barely, enough for Chikara to warn him with a soft bap of his paw. “Kaaa…” _

_ Ryuu was slow to pick up talking. No words, no names, though there was plenty of excited babbling, enough to carry on ‘conversations’ - mostly him ‘talking’ enough for two while Chikara listened patiently, often while rolling a ball back and forth and crawling to retrieve it when its path went astray.  _

_ “Ki. Ki-tty.” Chikara repeats, wobbling a little more before sitting up, trying to teach his vocal-but-wordless friend with the patience of an elder. “Ki.” _

_ Chikara’s first word was ‘kitty’. Ryuu’s first word… _

_ “Ka.” Ryuu slumps forward, giggling as he presses his forehead to the kitten’s. “Chika!” _

_ Ryuu’s first word was about the same. _

*

“Can I open them yet?” 

“Not yet! Just a liiiiiittle more.” 

Ryuu’s hands in Chikara’s were warm, a comfort from the evening chill in the last week of Autumn. They took careful steps as Ryuu led Chikara, though honestly, it wasn’t a surprise where they were going. A few steps outside the apartment, turning the corner to the backyard he’d only bothered to visit once or twice. The only surprise was that Ryuu hadn’t tripped yet, insistent on walking backward and holding Chikara’s hands as he guided him. 

“Aaaaannd…” Ryuu’s warmth disappeared from his hands to instead follow his voice as it trailed ahead. “Open ‘em!” 

Chikara obliged, to witness the great reveal of… “…Leaves?”

“That’s right!” Ryuu posed triumphantly, hands on his hips and puffing out his chest. It was… impressive, as far as piles of leaves went. Not that that was something Chikara had spent much time judging in well over a decade. The pile was as high as Ryuu’s shoulders, and twice as wide as his bed. “Not a single stick to stab us. I quadruple-checked!” 

“Sticks to stab- You mean…” Chikara blinked at Ryuu. “You want us.. to jump in it?” 

“Yup! I was thinking, you know, it’s fall, and I really missed when we’d jump in piles as kids, and I’d try to catch you, and you were so sneaky and I’d always lose, and you liked playing in leaves so much, and you’ve been lookin’ kinda down the past few days, and like… like…” Ryuu scratched the back of his neck, something down by his feet suddenly interesting enough to keep his gaze glued. “Nah, you know what? It’s stupid, it’s just a kid thing, we don’t need to-” 

“Ryuu. I understand.” Chikara couldn’t hold back his smirk. “You’re scared of losing again.”

“Wh-what?” Ryuu met his gaze, his eyes narrowing once it sunk in. “Oh, you-”

Chikara jumped into the sea of leaves, shifting into a cat and leaving his clothes in a pile behind. He hadn’t expected to shift when he dressed that morning, but then again, he rarely expected anything Ryuu had in store for them, even after spending most of their lives together. 

“I’m gettin’ you this time!” Ryuu called before diving in, thankfully as a human.

Once upon a time, between the dark and the size of his hiding space, Chikara would have won without breaking a metaphorical sweat. But they weren’t kids anymore; Chikara wasn’t a kitten dashing between Ryuu’s legs with the advantage of size, and Ryuu wasn’t grabbing into the pile on wild whims. 

“Gotcha!” Ryuu held the cat up triumphantly. “I win again!” 

Chikara booped Ryuu on the nose with his paw. “Good game.” 

“One more round?”

“You said that last time,” Chikara yawned. He stopped counting after ten rounds, and that was at least two hours ago. He lost every round, and despite it, felt better than he had in days. “Hey, Ryuu? Thank you. I do feel better.” 

Ryuu plopped down on the deflated pile, most of the leaves scattered away. He sat cross-legged, setting Chikara into the crook of his lap and petting Chikara’s back, urging him to stay. “You wanna tell me what’s bothering ya now? No ‘Just tired’ crap this time?” 

Chikara curled up into a ball, resting his head on Ryuu’s thigh. “I got an offer to direct a play.”

“Huh?! That’s a good thing, though, isn’t it?”

“I turned it down.” 

Ryuu’s hand stilled. “Huh? Why’d you do that?”

Chikara closed his eyes, wrapping his tail around his face. “I’m not ready.” 

“Oi.” Ryuu pulled the tail away to boop Chikara’s nose. “Nobody’s ever ready.”

“But I’ve only been-”

“Nope. No excuses. Chika-chan,” Ryuu pet Chikara’s cheek, and Chikara leaned into the touch, “we’re never ready. You just gotta do it. You’ll learn more from doing it yourself than you’ll ever learn from watching Daichi-san.”

“But-”

“No ‘but’. If you weren’t ready, Daichi-san wouldn’t have offered. You’re just scared.”

Chikara paused, his voice lowering to a whisper nearly lost in the late Autumn wind. “What if I mess up?”

“Everyone messes up. That’s how we learn. You can’t be scared of ‘em.” 

Chikara grew quiet as he considered Ryuu’s words. He supposed Ryuu was right, loathe as he was to admit it. How many passions did he let pass by him because he ‘wasn’t ready’? How many new hobbies did he talk himself out of, how many scripts did he procrastinate writing, all because it was easier to talk himself out of it than take the leap? 

How often did he let fear steer his life? Even his half-form, the ears and tail he’d never have been seen without before moving…

“I wish I was brave like you,” Chikara whispered.

“M-me? Brave?” Ryuu choked. “I’m not- I mean, I am, but…”

“But?” 

“But…” Ryuu grabbed Chikara and held him against his chest with one hand and gathered Chikara’s clothes with the other, standing abruptly. “But it’s so cold! Aha. And it’s late! We should really be getting inside!” 

“Why are you nervous?” Chikara sighed, nuzzling his face into the crook of Ryuu’s warm neck. 

“Me? Nervous? Nope, not me, you just said I was brave!” he replied far too loudly, as if the volume would make up for how completely unconvincing it was.

But that was the most Chikara would get out of Ryuu, he realized when Ryuu rambled about subject after subject as they went back inside and got ready for bed. 

“I can, uh, I’ll sleep on the floor. You gotta be tired of sleeping as a cat-”

“You know I’m not.” Chikara pat the pillow. “It’ll be warmer this way, too.”

“Y-yeah. Yeah, that’s true.” 

When Ryuu climbed in bed and pulled the blanket up, Chikara crawled under the blanket, curling up against Ryuu’s warm chest. 

In the morning, when he shifted back to a human, he kept the ears and tail. 

*

Winter was going to be tough this year. The toughest Ryuu had ever faced. 

He’d suffered winters with low rations, winters with harsh winds that refused to still, even a winter living in a tent before his family settled in the mountains. 

But a winter with Chikara huddling against him for warmth? This older Chikara that always knew what to say to cheer him up and keep him going through even the roughest of days, spending the nights as a cat curled up in his arms? This Chikara, with a voice like honey and gentle smiles that turned his legs to jelly, pressing against his side when they cooked together? This Chikara that could soothe and rile him all with a look, currently sharing a blanket with him in front of the fireplace?  

Ryuu wasn’t sure he could make it through the winter.

“Hey, Ryuu?” Chikara’s voice floated by his ear, airy and calm, but with the tiniest ache of melancholy. “Do you like it in the city?” 

“Yeah.” Hesitantly, Ryuu wrapped his arm behind Chikara’s back, placing his hand on Chikara’s side. “Yeah, why?” 

“Mm. Just wondering.”

“What’s going on, Chika-chan?”

“Nothing. Why?”

“You sound… I dunno. Sad?”

Chikara tilted his head with a sigh, resting it on Ryuu’s shoulder, his fuzzy ear tickling Ryuu’s cheek. “Do you remember last week, when I said you were brave?”

“Yeah.” He thought about it constantly, in all honesty; it was as sweet as it was cruel, coming from the one person that made his palms sweat. “What about it?”

“Um… You started acting like… like there’s something you’re not telling me.”

Ryuu’s breath caught hard in his throat, swallowed down to beat mercilessly in his chest. 

“If you… If you’d rather not be here, it’s okay. You were just trying it out.”

“No! No, Chika-chan, that’s not it at all.” Instinctively, he held Chikara tighter, wrapping his other arm around Chikara’s front. “It’s- It’s nothing like that. Just something silly, not worth talkin’ about.” What he had with Chikara was perfect as is; it was well and truly silly to want anything else. “I love it here. W-with you.”

In truth, he’d love it in the city even without Chikara. He loved the bustle of all the people, he loved working at the bakery, he loved perching as a dragon on the apartment’s roof and watching the lights of the homes across the horizon like the night sky. 

He just loved it so much more with Chikara. He loved walking down the cobblestone streets, chatting with Chikara as they shopped for new clothes to share and groceries to cook together. He loved having Chikara test out his new recipes, and the days Chikara would visit as a cat and simply enjoy each others’ presence. He loved laying on the roof with Chikara, talking about anything and everything under the stars. 

Chikara sighed again, softer this time, tilting his head to rest his forehead against the crook of Ryuu’s neck. “I love having you here, too.” 

It was going to be a wonderfully cruel winter.

*

_ “We're going to the capital.” _

_ “That’s… That's good. Your parents talk about that all the time.” _

_ “Um… What about you? Are you staying to rebuild, or…?” _

_ “Nah. We're gonna travel a bit. We're… I dunno, they just wanna try out different places, I guess.” _

_ It's quiet around them. There's the banging of hammers, the chatter of villagers carrying supplies, the rattles of the wheels of caravans… but all of it falls deaf to them. The village - or what's left of it - is a world away.  _

_ “Um… Ryuu. I think… I think this is goodbye, then.” _

_ Ryuu lunges forward, wrapping his arms around Chikara tightly. “I'll look for you. As soon as I can, I'll-” his voice cracks, “-I'll find you. This is just ‘see you later,’ alright? No ‘goodbye’s.” _

_ Chikara hides his face in the crook of Ryuu's neck, hides his wet eyes and his quivering chin. “Okay.” _

*

Chikara cupped his hand under the ladle as he brought it to Ryuu’s lips. “Open up.” 

“Aaaaaaahh…”

The first snow of winter fell outside their window, a few friendly snowflakes gathering against the glass to say hello before melting away. Ryuu spent the evening watching, ever the excited puppy, his tail wagging as he fondly - and quite dramatically - sighed that soon it should be even colder, cold enough for the snow to stick. 

Despite the cold, Chikara was warm, filled to brimming with joy that he felt he could melt with the snowflakes. “How is it?”

“S’good!” Ryuu wiped at the trickle of broth at the corner of his mouth. “Needs a liiiitttle bit more time.” 

“Okay,” Chikara replied, humming quietly as he returned to stirring. 

“Sooo…” Ryuu leaned against the counter. “What’s got you in such a good mood?” 

“Actually, I have a request for you.” The corners of Chikara’s lips twitched; it was hard to keep from grinning like a fool all day, to not smile so wide that it hurt. “Would you like to make an appearance as a dragon in the play I’m directing?”

“Chika-chan?! You- You’re gonna do it? You’re gonna direct?”

Chikara nodded, his restrained smile breaking free. “Daichi-san made me another offer.”

“Yes!” Ryuu’s arms were around him quicker than his eyes could follow, lifting his feet off the ground. “I knew you could do it!” 

Chikara held onto Ryuu’s shoulders for stability, ladle still in hand and dripping broth on Ryuu’s back. “I haven’t done anything yet.”

“Don’t sell yourself short! This is that huge step you were scared of.” Ryuu grinned up at Chikara, their eyes meeting. “And of course I’ll be your dragon-” His eyes grew wide, his grin faltering and a blush creeping across his cheeks. “I- I mean! F-for the play! Ha ha, yeah, the play!” He let go of Chikara, quickly, nearly letting him stumble. “I-I’ll go set the table!” 

And like that, Ryuu was out of the kitchen and out of sight, dashing off before he could catch Chikara blushing back. 

*

“Isn’t our son beautiful?”

“Mhm. He has your eyes.”

Red eyes like swirls of fire stared back at them - the marbles had been a good touch, after all. 

“And your nose!” Ryuu tapped his gloved fingertip on the button in the center of snow-cat-dragon-man’s face. 

Their creation looked ready to fall over, three uneven lumps of snow stacked one on top of the other, with an array of small branches poking out every which way. Triangular patches of snow made up the ears, and a stick behind each that looked just like horns, no matter how much Chikara argued otherwise. The three branches sticking out of each side of the back looked more like extra limbs than wings. They saved the biggest stick for the tail, sticking straight up, like Ryuu told Chikara, ‘cause he’s ready to fight all the other snowmen’.

“Oh,” Chikara knelt down, “you forgot something.”

“Yeah? What did- Oof!” 

The snowball smacked him dead in the face, bursting apart, snowflakes sneaking under his scarf to sting at his neck.

“To wipe the snow off your face,” Chikara hummed back oh-so-sweetly. 

“Oh, you're on!”

Chikara was fast, but not fast enough; again and again, Ryuu’s aim was spot-on, covering his target with snow. 

He refused to go easy on Chikara - Chikara was just too cute, his nose red and snow sprinkled in his hair and on his ears, his breathless laughter as he jumped at Ryuu, knocking them both over. 

“That's- that's cheating,” Ryuu panted, instinctively wrapping his arms around Chikara on top of him. 

“There's no rules in war,” Chikara panted back, delight dancing in his dark, calming eyes.

Calming, captivating eyes that were staring into his.

Captivating, beautiful eyes that trailed his face down to his lips, then back up to his eyes.

Ryuu was surrounded by snow, from the pile he laid on that was freezing the back of his head, to the snowflakes covering his clothes and creeping into every crevice. But he felt like he could melt it all, heat in his chest bursting, hot all over when Chikara leaned closer.

Chikara's nose was cold against his, but the flicker of his breath near Ryuu’s lips was warm, inviting. 

“R-Ryuu,” Chikara began in a stuttered whisper. “Thank you. For finding me. And helping me be brave.”

If he felt hot before, his cheeks were on fire now. “Thank you for being home. L-like a home, I mean. I-I mean- Aaaah, I’m messin’ it all up,” he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. 

The heat from Chikara’s gentle laugh tickled his lips. “You’re home for me, too.” 

Ryuu peeked one eye open. “I-I am?” 

“Mhm.”

Ryuu exhaled deeply, opening both eyes again. “Can we get to the kissing part before I say something dumb again? U-unless I’m misunderstanding, then just forget I said-”

Chikara's lips on his were chapped but warm, and as soft as his kiss. 

Ryuu kissed back, meeting him as tenderly, gently taking Chikara's bottom lip between his and tasting Chikara's pleased gasp.

He couldn't say how long they stayed like that - only that the resulting cold was worth it. 

*

_ “Here!” Ryuu shoves something at Chikara’s chest roughly, enough to make Chikara stumble. _

_ Their small hands brush as Chikara takes hold of the gift. He holds it up, squinting at the light that shines through a crack. “Cloth?” _

_ The beige strip, about a centimeter wide and half a foot long, is made of tree bark - quite sloppily. It's thin, with a few cracks, but it's sturdy nonetheless.  _

_ “It's a bracelet,” Ryuu pouts, looking away. “Sis says shifters need bracelets to get married.” _

_ Chikara tilts his head. “We're getting married?” _

_ “Sis says if we get married, we can live together forever! And, and!” Ryuu’s voice grows louder as he talks. “And we share everything! You can play with my toys whenever you want! And we share a bed so we don't have to say bye at night! Like a sleepover forever!” _

_ Chikara's eyes light up. “Okay! I'll go tell my mom we're married!” _

*

“I like the place on the third floor best. It had those nice, big windows so I could fly right out without getting my wing stuck.”

“Mm. The tree by the window would make it easy to climb to the roof, too.” Chikara shifted the bag from one arm to the other; he would have preferred to buy a new stationary set for after the move, but when his inkwell needed replacing, well, one purchase lead to another. “We have two more appointments to look at places tomorrow, but I think we'll end up settling on that one.”

The current apartment was… satisfactory. It got the job done for the past year and a half together, but they wanted just a little bit more space - more space to move about the kitchen, trying new recipes together, for a bigger desk for Chikara to work on his next script, and for a bigger bed, for nights when they wanted to sleep beside each other as humans. Well, in half-forms anyway, wrap their arms around each other and tangle their tails. 

Besides, Chikara couldn't think of a better way to celebrate next month's ceremony.

“Here, lemme carry that.” Ryuu grabbed the bag before Chikara could argue, his bark cloth bracelet rubbing against Chikara's. “Is it weird that I'm excited to go furniture shopping?”

“I am too, honestly. We must be getting old.”

“Well, old man, I want a huge bed. I want a bed so big, I can sleep on it as a dragon.”

“Hm…” Chikara's cheeks flushed; he hadn't considered napping together as a dragon and cat since they were kids. “We'll see what we can find. Maybe we can have one custom built.”

“Alright!” Ryuu gave Chikara's cheek a quick kiss as they walked. “I'm gonna miss the old place. Lotta good memories.”

“That's okay. We'll make plenty of memories in our new home- Er, new place.” To call it ‘home’ wouldn't have been accurate, after all - his home was the man beside him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much to Nana and Gilrael for the help! ilu guys <333


End file.
